


R.I.P Rory Williams

by Tardis_Witch



Series: Legends of SuperFlarrow one-shots and Drabbles [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Legends of Tomorrow
Genre: Crossover, Fan theory, Nostalgia, Sadness, rip is rory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 20:24:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8223706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tardis_Witch/pseuds/Tardis_Witch
Summary: Rip Hunter goes away to think after dropping his team off in 2016 and all but giving up on the mission. He is visited by an unlikely friend and memories of the past are stirred up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> _"This isn't fair, you're turning me into you"_ \- Rory Williams (The Girl Who Waited, Doctor Who)

Rip Hunter sat under a tree in a vast field, unpopulated by all but the occasional fauna. It was a place he frequented when he needed to think, which was certainly true now.

He'd dropped his team - what was left of them - off in 2016, and he had no leads on Savage's whereabouts. He'd failed to save him family, again, and all he'd succeeded in doing was putting everyone's lives in danger.

Why had he ever thought he could do this? How had he convinced himself that taking  a group of inexperienced people and putting them in the middle of danger in unfamiliar environments had ever been a good idea? Carter had died, and now Kendra was in the hands of Savage along with her soul mate's reincarnation from the future.  And Snart was gone. Gone in a gesture of heroism none of them had expected, except perhaps Sara who seemed to have known him best of all.

And poor Sara, now she had to deal with the death of Snart, on top of that of her sister. Rip knew that by keeping her from that time he had saved her life, but he still felt horrible for not letting her be with her sister during her last days - to not even attend the funeral. It was a good thing he never planned on seeing her again; he was sure she'd rip his throat out for it.

All of this and more were the reasons he'd sworn to never try a team again. It was one thing to risk your own life, but to be in charge of the lives of many - and to be as incapable and selfish as he was - was not only foolish and reckless, but cruel to those who trusted you.

He should've known better than to try and act like _him_. He knew too well all the things _his_ actions had led to.

Rip looked up as a familiar whooshing noise filled the air, furrowing his brow in disbelief. He stood and spun around, a mixture of nostalgia, joy, confusion, and anger filling him as a blue box appeared in front of him.

He stared, waiting, for only a moment, and then an all too familiar floppy-haired, big chinned, grinning face emerged from the doorway. "Rory," he said in greeting, hopping out of the box and closing the door behind him.

"Doctor," Rip responded, "What the he - how did you even know to come here?"

The Doctor raised a knowing eyebrow at him in answer, which Rip took to mean that he actually had no idea he was coming here, and the TARDIS had just decided to take him.

"So, Rory -"

"Actually, it's Rip now. Rip Hunter." Rip interrupted him. Hearing his old name just stirred up old memories and although just the sight of the Doctor did that, he didn't see a need for dredging up too many.

"Rip," the Doctor tried to name out," R-I-P, that's a bit ironic isn't?"

"Stop it," Rip said, although the Doctor was right. It wasn't exactly a fitting name for someone who - for all he knew - would never "rest in peace."

The Doctor nodded in submission, "alright then, Rip. How've you been? How do you like life as a Time Lord?"

"I'm not a Time Lord, I'm a Time Master, there's a difference." Rip answered, annoyed, as he seated himself by the tree again. "And I'm not even that anymore."

"What do you mean by that? The records I saw listed you as 'one of the most feared Time Masters of the galaxy'," The Doctor said, sitting beside him.

Rip sighed, dreading the reaction to his next sentence. "I got kicked out because … I stole a time ship and ran away."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him and one side of his mouth slowly moved up into a half smile.

Rip rolled his eyes, "I know, I know, that's exactly what you did, but mine wasn't for the sake of adventure. I stole it to save the world."

"And did you?" The Doctor asked.

Rip stayed silent, looking at the ground. No he hadn't. He'd laid waste to the timeline, put innocents in danger, cause death and tragedy to befall all of his teammates. "No, no I haven't. I've done everything but."

"But have you saved _people_?" The Doctor prodded gently.

And Rip thought, thought about the boys Savage had turned to monsters in the 50's, all the people in Salvation, and the refugees in 2166. All of those lives made a little longer and little better because of him and his team. He smiled softly. "Yes, I have."

The Doctor laid a hand on his shoulder, "That's what it's all about. We try to save the world, or the universe, but we can't fight every battle. There will always be something that people need saving from. Take care of the ones you can."

The Doctor stood and headed toward the TARDIS, and suddenly any reticence Rip had had about seeing him again melted away. He stood too, quickly, searched for something to make him stay a little longer.

"Can I step inside?" he asked, gesturing to the TARDIS, "just for a minute."

The Doctor smiled sadly, "Everything's changed now, I had her update it, because everything - well it all…" he trailed away but Rip could see in his eyes that it had reminded him of them; him and Amy.

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Anyway, Clara's sleeping right now and I don't know when she'll wake up, or what she'll do if she finds a stranger in the TARDIS. Never can tell much with that one," he laughed.

"Clara," Rip said, trying hard to keep any bitterness from seeping into his voice. "Is she - well, that is, have you -"

"I told you before, there will never be a "new you," The Doctor said, "No one can replace my Ponds."

Rip smiled sadly, remembering all the good times he'd had inside that little blue box, with his amazing wife and their ridiculous immortal friend. There had been terrible times, but there had been plenty of great times too.

"But," the Doctor continued after a pause, "traveling alone gets lonely. Horribly lonely. So I make new friends every once and a while, and right now my friend is Clara. Have you got friends with you?"

"I did," Rip answered, "A whole team actually, there were 8 of them, to start," he shrugged and looked away, "but I took the remaining 5 home. I couldn't keep them all safe."

Understanding and sorrow were all over The Doctor's face as he turned Rip back to face him, "I'm sorry," he said, pulling Rip into a hug, "I never wanted this kind of life for you. But if you continue, you need to know that it's a life that requires other people in it. Otherwise you'll go insane."

Rip nodded against the Doctor's shoulder and they parted, nodding and refusing to cry.

Rip knew the Doctor was right, but he didn't want to go back and get his team, after dropping them off and promising to let them live their lives. He wasn't going to pressure them into rejoining him on his suicide venture. But maybe, if they asked to come back… maybe he'd let them.

"Now goodbye, Mr. Pond. You have a world to save, don't you?" the Doctor said, cracking a smile as he slapped Rip's shoulder in farewell.

Before he stepped into the TARDIS, Rip called after him "Oi! Doctor! Mine's bigger!" as the Doctor turned to look he uncloaked the Waverider, revealing her in all her splendor, dwarfing the TARDIS.

The Doctor just smirked, "you wish!" was his reply. He turned to go, but looked back one last time. "Hey, if you ever run into a Jack Harkness in this universe full of superheroes, tell him I said hi, I heard he spent some time here in the 21st century."

"I'll keep an eye out!" Rip promised, although he'd never heard of a Jack Harkness in the timeline and he was sure any friend of the Doctor's was sure to make some kind of impact on the timeline.

He waved goodbye as he watched the TARDIS slowly disappear. When the Doctor had dropped him off in a universe where comic books came to life; after Rory and Amy had lived out their lives, grown old together and died, and then Rory had woken up - back in his 20's and very not dead - when he'd started his new life here, he had never imagined that this is where he would end up.

He contemplated his current situation - last of those who care for the timeline, having destroyed the rest of them; traveling time and space, the only one left who could still maintain order, picking up companions and taking them on adventures they never could've dreamed of while saving the lives of innocents in the process.

There had been a period of his life when he thought that becoming like the Doctor would be the worst thing that could happen to him. But as he mounted the ramp to his time machine and plotted a course through the temporal zone, otherwise known as the Time Vortex, he figured that maybe being like the Doctor didn't have to be a bad thing after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Please ask me questions if anything was unclear, I had a million ideas in my head and I wasn't sure how to fit them all in one scene!  
> Also I'm really sorry if The Doctor seems ooc, it's been years since I watched Doctor Who and I don't really remember how to write him.  
> Any and all constructive critique is appreciated!


End file.
